Marijke van Altena

We bought our dreamhouse in 2002, before we came to Japan in 2003; Mid 2004 we left Japan to move to Spain. Life in Spain is totally different compared to the life I have lived in Japan.

The Spaniard is proud, confident and a spontaneous human being and easy going. A wellknown expression here is "manana, manana" (which means tomorrow) 94% of the population is roman catholic. This puts a stamp on their life, thinking and morals. One week ago the second homo marriage took place in Alicante, after a big discussion. The church is still against those marriages.

Life in Spain takes place outside the house, in the streets and in bars. In our small village one will see separate bars for men and women. Between 18-21 o'clock the older people are sitting in front of their houses, chatting and drinking wine. The spaniards have a late dinner ("cena") They go to bed at about one o'clock. But early in the morning they have to go to work and to compensate this shortcoming of sleep they have a "siesta" between 14-17 o'clock, when the summer heat is intense. At this time most of the shops, offices and banks are closed. Sometimes this will be frustrating.

Spain has a lot of interesting cities. The 3 biggest are Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. They have beautiful musea. A few years ago we visited Barcelona and It felt I was in Buenos Aires again. So beautiful! In the near future we like to visit Madrid and Valencia. One month ago we went to Granada where we visited the Alhambra, where you will see the influence of the islamic art. The building and the garden were beautiful.

This time of the year the climate is very hot and humid in summer. Spain is facing a difficult period, because a lack of rain this year. I do even not remember when the last rain fell. We have to be careful with the use of water - not to spoil anything.

The prizes in the supermercado's ("grocery")are still low compared to those in Holland. In our area it's difficult for the spaniards to buy a house because of the rise in house prices as a result of the influx of expats from the north of Europe.

Spain is famous for its flamenco (dance-music-castagnetten-tapdance), bull-fight and soccer. Very famous painters were Velasques, Salvador Dali and Picasso.

One of the biggest problems in Spain is the crime, which is on the increase.The cause are: immigrants from Russia and East European countries. They steal and rob, often threatening and wounding when one resists. But I am afraid this happens all over the world - except in Japan.

That's why, not only for that reason, but I fell in love with Japan and I still miss my dear friends from the Minami Circle. I have learned so much from you all and I am really looking forward to meet everybody again in 2007.